A New Form of BDS: CADS-- Colbert Assurance Derrangement Syndrome

Richard Cohen, liberal columnist at the WaPo, dared to point out that Colbert wasn't speaking "truth to power" in the sense he was risking anything.

Colbertâ€¦ is representative of what too often passes for political courage, not to mention wit, in this country. His defenders -- and they are all over the blogosphere -- will tell you he spoke truth to power. This is a tired phrase, as we all know, but when it was fresh and meaningful it suggested repercussions, consequences -- maybe even death in some countries. When you spoke truth to power you took the distinct chance that power would smite you, toss you into a dungeon or -- if you're at work -- take away your office.
But in this country, anyone can insult the president of the United States. Colbert just did it, and he will not suffer any consequence at all. He knew that going in. He also knew that Bush would have to sit there and pretend to laugh at Colbert's lame and insulting jokes.

Confederate Yankee writes:

For raining on their juvenile parade with very adult reasoning, Cohen has been bombarded by vicious, hate-filled emailsâ€”3,506 at last count over four daysâ€”that stem from the angst of liberal bloggers that somehow feel Cohen betrayed them. Hateful bile is no stranger to the blogosphereâ€”it exists on both the right and the leftâ€”but Cohen is quick to recognize the disproportionate seething on the leftward fringe of American politics, and fears what the left's "digital lynch mob" might portend:

The e-mails pulse in my queue, emanating raw hatred. This spells trouble -- not for Bush or, in 2008, the next GOP presidential candidate, but for Democrats. The anger festering on the Democratic left will be taken out on the Democratic middle. (Watch out, Hillary!) I have seen this anger before -- back in the Vietnam War era. That's when the antiwar wing of the Democratic Party helped elect Richard Nixon. In this way, they managed to prolong the very war they so hated.